Having your ad account permanently disabled can be incredibly frustrating and damaging to your business. Facebook and Instagram ad accounts are vital marketing tools, so not having access cuts you off from your audience and harms your ability to advertise.
There are a few potential reasons an ad account may get permanently disabled:
- Too many policy violations
- Suspicious account activity
- Linking to prohibited products or services
- Using prohibited ad creative/copy
- Creating too many ad accounts
Usually Facebook will warn you and provide a chance to fix violations before disabling an account. But repeated or egregious offenses can lead to immediate permanent disabling.
The good news is that while extremely difficult, it is sometimes possible to get a permanently disabled ad account reinstated. This article will explain why accounts get disabled, how to appeal the decision, and steps to take to hopefully regain access.
Why Do Ad Accounts Get Permanently Disabled?
There are a few key reasons Facebook may permanently disable ads accounts:
Too Many Policy Violations
Facebook has extensive policies for ads that touch on content, targeting practices, and data use. Violating policies like these repeatedly can get your account permanently banned:
- Using improper targeting
- Running misleading or deceptive ads
- Promoting prohibited products or services
- Using prohibited ad creative and copy
- Collecting data improperly
Even minor infractions can build up over time. Facebook will warn you when policy violations happen via email or in your Ads Manager. But if issues continue and are not addressed, violators face being permanently disabled.
Suspicious Account Activity
Facebook closely monitors ad accounts for suspicious activity indicative of fraud, spamming, or coordinated inauthentic behavior. Things like:
- Creating lots of new ad accounts quickly
- Running the same ad content across multiple accounts
- Huge spikes in spending from inactive accounts
- Bidding unusually high costs per action
Accounts deemed suspicious get investigated and may face permanent disablement if found to be engaged in abusive activities.
Prohibited Products and Services
Some products and services are completely prohibited from advertising on Facebook and Instagram:
- Illegal drugs
- Weapons
- Unsafe supplements
- Tobacco
- Adult content
Promoting these areas even once can immediately lead to permanent account disablement.
Prohibited Ad Creative and Copy
Facebook maintains strict rules around ad creative content and copy:
- No sensationalized language
- No profanity or shocking content
- No implying dire outcomes
- No suggesting illegitimate activity
- No Gifs or video over 20% text
Breaking creative rules repeatedly creates policy violations that lead to permanent disabling when unresolved.
Creating Too Many Ad Accounts
To prevent malicious account cycling, Facebook prohibits creating excessive ad accounts:
- No more than 3 accounts per person
- Max 1 account for advertising the same product
- No creating new accounts after being disabled
Going over these limits signals suspicious behavior to Facebook and causes accounts to be reviewed and possibly disabled permanently.
So in summary, the main reasons your ad account may have gotten permanently disabled boil down to:
- Too many unresolved policy violations
- Engaging in suspicious account activity
- Promoting prohibited products or services
- Using prohibited ad creative/copy
- Creating too many accounts
Repeatedly breaking rules or guidelines around these areas is what triggers the permanent disabling of ad accounts.
How to Appeal a Permanently Disabled Ad Account
Appealing a permanently disabled ad account is very difficult, but not impossible. Here are the steps:
Submit an Appeal
The first step is submitting an appeal to Facebook explaining why you believe the account was wrongly disabled. You can start this process here:
https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/commerce
In your appeal, be extremely detailed about why you think the disablement was a mistake or unfair. Provide as much context and evidence supporting your case as possible.
Being persuasive and conveying an understanding of what went wrong increases your odds of getting your appeal approved.
Wait for Review
Once submitted, your appeal gets reviewed by Facebook’s ads team. This process can take weeks or even months in some cases. All you can do is wait patiently for a response.
Do not submit multiple appeals, as this will not speed up the process and may hurt your appeal chances. Be prepared for a long wait.
Hope for Reactiviation
If your appeal is successful, Facebook will communicate with you and potentially reinstate your disabled ad account. However, most permanent disablement appeals fail and accounts remain banned.
So hope for the best, but be prepared that regaining access to a permanently disabled account is very rare. Focus on setting up new accounts properly going forward.
Create a New Ad Account
Since most appeals fail, be ready to create a new Facebook ad account if your appeal gets rejected. But this time focus on avoiding the missteps that got your previous account disabled.
Ensure you:
- Thoroughly understand all policies
- Review ad creative/copy closely
- Do not promote prohibited products
- Avoid suspicious account behaviors
- Do not create too many accounts
A new ad account gives you a clean slate. Use your past experience to ensure future compliance.
Steps to Avoid Getting Disabled Again
Having an ad account permanently disabled is devastating. To avoid it happening again, here are key steps to take:
Learn All Policies Thoroughly
Make sure you and your team fully understand Facebook and Instagram’s complete ad policies. Review them regularly for any updates:
https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads
Know the rules around:
- Ad content, targeting, and placements
- Data usage
- Prohibited content
Mastering policies is crucial to avoiding violations.
Review Ad Creative and Copy Carefully
Scrutinize all ad images, videos, and text used in campaigns. Look for anything potentially:
- Misleading
- Offensive
- Sensationalized
- Suggesting illegitimate activity
Creative content violations result in swift policy violations and disabled accounts.
Do Not Promote Prohibited Products or Services
Completely avoid promoting prohibited categories like illegal drugs, weapons, adult content, and unsafe supplements. This is the fastest way to get accounts disabled for good.
Avoid Suspicious Account Behaviors
Take care to avoid patterns of activity that appear inauthentic to Facebook. Things like:
- Making many ad accounts quickly
- Drastic changes in performance or spending
- Running identical ads across accounts
Suspicious behaviors will trigger disabling of accounts.
Create Only the Allowed Number of Accounts
Never go over the permitted number of ad accounts per person or product. Also, do not make new accounts if previously disabled.
This will cause immediate suspicion and review by Facebook. Stick to 3 accounts maximum per person.
Communicate Any Issues Quickly
If issues come up, communicate with Facebook’s ads team right away to demonstrate willingness to comply and resolve problems. Being unresponsive results in escalations.
Conclusion
Having a Facebook or Instagram ad account permanently disabled can truly harm your business. The best approach is being meticulous about following all policies when creating new accounts. Do thorough ad review, avoid anything suspicious, and limit accounts carefully. Appeal civilly if disabled again, and you should be able to maintain access moving forward through proper diligent ad account management.